Multi-talented back calls time on 14-year career at Kingsholm after failing to
recover fully from fractured ankle

James Simpson-Daniel, one of the finest talents of the English game over the past decade, has been forced to retire.

The Gloucester back would have won many more England caps than the 10 he did acquire if injury or illness had not laid him low at the most inopportune moments. His rotten luck persisted to the end as Simpson-Daniel announced on Tuesday that the complex fracture of the ankle that has sidelined him since last November has caused him to call time on his career.

Those who remember him waltzing round Jonah Lomu for England in a Barbarians match at Twickenham as a 19-year-old in 2002 will regret the fact that such images were only fleeting on the international stage. Clive Woodward was bold enough to pick him for the audacity of his play, for his pace and nerve, only for the youngster to be stricken with glandular fever after winning his first couple of caps. Simpson-Daniel could have been a 2003 World Cup star if the fates had not aligned against him.

There were many thrilling cameos in a Gloucester shirt, the club he joined straight from Sedbergh School as a teenager. He was not the biggest but the tape measure will tell you nothing about the size of a man’s heart. He backed down from nothing, be it as a centre or wing.

“When I was given the diagnosis by the specialist, they were obviously the last words I wanted to hear,” Simpson-Daniel said. “But I know that I’ve given it everything. I’ve had a really good trot, I can’t have any complaints. It would have been nice to have won more trophies with Gloucester, but I’ve got so many fantastic memories from my time in the game.

"I’ve loved every minute of my time with the club, played and worked with so many great people, made so many friends and, of course, played my home games at the best home ground in club rugby, Kingsholm. That’s what I’ll miss the most. That roar as you exit the tunnel and run on to the pitch. The Gloucester supporters have always been fantastic to me and I’ll always be grateful.”

Simpson-Daniel spent 14 seasons with Gloucester, making more Premiership appearances for the club than any other player, scoring 118 tries in 250 starts.

The recently installed Gloucester director of rugby, David Humphreys, said: “It is a real blow for him and personally I’m disappointed that I have not had the opportunity to enjoy seeing him play as a Gloucester colleague. He was a unique talent, a joy to watch and he has helped develop the likes of [England] wings Jonny May and Charlie Sharples. He will have inspired countless others to play the game.”